Sautéed Spinach With Lemon & Butter

The other night the kids requested fresh spinach. I was more than happy to oblige (I love these kids). This fresh and simple dish takes only a few minutes to prepare. Have all your ingredients ready before you start and it will be done in no time at all.

I gave this a ten minute cooking time as a guideline, it could be less or more depending on how you like your spinach. If you want it vibrant green, remove it from the heat once all the spinach has turned just soft. If you want it dark green, remove it from the heat once all the spinach has turned very soft. These aren’t technical terms, but I think you can visualize it. How cooked you like your spinach is a personal preference, just keep an eye on it.

In a very large sauté pan, melt two tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat.

Add garlic and red chili flakes; sauté a minute or two until garlic releases its fragrances, making sure not to burn it, which can happen very quickly. (If you don’t want to use garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, skip this step.)

Add the spinach leaves; mix well to coat all the leaves with the butter mixture. Sauté until leaves have just softened or wilted; remove from heat. At this point, what was once a huge mound of spinach, should be reduced in volume by about ½ to ¾.

To finish, squeeze the juice from one to two lemons over spinach, drizzle it with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; mix well.

Serve immediately and enjoy.

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Sautéed Spinach With Lemon And Butter

Prep Time5minutes

Cook Time10minutes

Total Time15minutes

Servings6servings

AuthorStasia Wimmer

Ingredients

18ozfresh baby spinach leaves, (3 bags)

2lemons, juice of

2garlic cloves, finely minced (optional)

1teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes, (optional)

2tablespoonsunsalted butter

1teaspoonextra virgin olive oil, (if needed)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a very large sauté pan, melt two tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat.

Add garlic and red chili flakes; sauté a minute or two until garlic releases its fragrances, making sure not to burn it, which can happen very quickly. (If you don’t want to use garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, skip this step.)

Add the spinach leaves; mix well to coat all the leaves with the butter mixture. Sauté until leaves have just softened or wilted; remove from heat. At this point, what was once a huge mound of spinach, should be reduced in volume by about 1/2 to 3/4.

To finish, squeeze the juice from one to two lemons over spinach, drizzle it with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; mix well.

Serve immediately and enjoy.

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About Stasia Wimmer

Welcome to City Girl’s Kitchen, the place to find seasonal cooking, delicious classics, cozy comfort foods, ultimate make–ahead recipes, and melt-in-your-mouth treats, inspired from my California kitchen, travels, and beyond, to yours. I’m Stasia Wimmer, I developed the City Girl’s Kitchen food blog to share the recipes I made for private parties, friends, and family, with home-cooks all around the world. I’m glad you stopped by, come see what’s happening in the kitchen.

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City Girl’s Kitchen

Welcome to City Girl’s Kitchen, the place to find seasonal cooking, delicious classics, cozy comfort foods, ultimate make–ahead recipes, and melt-in-your-mouth treats, inspired from my California kitchen, travels, and beyond, to yours. I’m Stasia Wimmer, I developed the City Girl’s Kitchen food blog to share the recipes I made for private parties, friends, and family, with home-cooks all around the world. I’m glad you stopped by, come see what’s happening in the kitchen. (Read More)